Suspicious fire damages popular water park along the Neuse River

By Bill Hand, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 04:59 PM.

Almost since its inception, the popular swimming hole, constructed over time by Wetherington in his old Scouting days with the help of local youth, has had its detractors from some local residents, politicians and government agencies.

“Getting the permit to build was a real struggle,” he said. “You’d be surprised what we’ve gone through.”

Over the years, the dock, located on Green Springs Road in James City, has grown from a swimming dock unattached to land to a massive, rectangular structure featuring a three-story diving tower, high and low diving boards and a zip line.

In its heyday, the swimming hole drew as many as a thousand swimmers over the course of a day. On July 4, 1969, Wetherington said, he counted 640 people on the dock at one time. In 2012, he estimated he had between 30 and 75 swimmers daily.

“In all those years, I’ve never charged a cent,” he said. “I haven’t changed. I love it. I love to see the kids here.”

Former resident Anthony Lilly remembers his childhood helping build the dock and swimming. Currently a resident of Seattle, Wash., Lilly has been returning to the area laying groundwork for a movie about the late New Bern photographic pioneer Bayard Wootten.

He received a call about the fire shortly after it was called in and visited Wetherington to offer support.

Green Springs, the 45-year-old “last of the old time swimming holes,” was damaged by a suspicious blaze late Saturday night and the owner has no idea how he will make repairs.

George Wetherington, 83, said he knew something was up. He had just turned on the television at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he noticed boats with lights passing the massive old dock, well known to locals as a summertime swimming spot.

A brighter spot of light had caught his attention when his dog “went wild.” The next thing he knew, his son had entered the house, telling him the dock was on fire.

Wetherington feared he was about to lose the dock to which he has dedicated much of his life, providing a free swimming hole for children since its construction in 1968.

“I found an old bucket and some rope, said something’s gotta be done,” he said. “It wasn’t much, but I had to do it.”

He had just started fighting the blaze, which was licking up the side of one of the structure’s main pilings, when firefighters started arriving.

“I had a whole yard full of people,” he said, adding that he was overwhelmed by the show of support. “I thought nobody cared about [the dock]. I thought people’d be clapping their hands.”

Almost since its inception, the popular swimming hole, constructed over time by Wetherington in his old Scouting days with the help of local youth, has had its detractors from some local residents, politicians and government agencies.

“Getting the permit to build was a real struggle,” he said. “You’d be surprised what we’ve gone through.”

Over the years, the dock, located on Green Springs Road in James City, has grown from a swimming dock unattached to land to a massive, rectangular structure featuring a three-story diving tower, high and low diving boards and a zip line.

In its heyday, the swimming hole drew as many as a thousand swimmers over the course of a day. On July 4, 1969, Wetherington said, he counted 640 people on the dock at one time. In 2012, he estimated he had between 30 and 75 swimmers daily.

“In all those years, I’ve never charged a cent,” he said. “I haven’t changed. I love it. I love to see the kids here.”

Former resident Anthony Lilly remembers his childhood helping build the dock and swimming. Currently a resident of Seattle, Wash., Lilly has been returning to the area laying groundwork for a movie about the late New Bern photographic pioneer Bayard Wootten.

He received a call about the fire shortly after it was called in and visited Wetherington to offer support.

“We used to have a day each year when the Scouts would line up on the dock, strip off our clothes and swim from here to the bridge and back,” he recalled. Pointing to a name carved in one piling, he added, “I’ll bet my name is all over the place… I practically grew up here.”

There is, as yet, no official cause of the fire. Ira Whitford, Craven County’s assistant fire marshal, called the blaze “suspicious.”

“It’s under investigation,” he said. “There’s nothing else there for it to light.”

Because firefighters from Township 7 and other organizations arrived so quickly, the damage was limited to the piling and to portions of the multiple dock levels it supports. Still, Wetherington doesn’t know where he will find money or supplies to replace the burnt piling and damaged planking.

Lilly is convinced the community will help provide materials and labor to repair the dock in time for the swimming season.